NACo

The National Association of Counties is accepting nominations for the 2012 County Leadership Institute until Feb 15th. If any Montana Commissioners are interested in attending, please contact Harold Blattie, MACo Executive Director, no later than Feb 10th.

On October 12, 2011, a Bipartisan group of Senators introduced the County Payments Reauthorization Act of 2011 (S. 1692). The Act would reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program and fund the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) Act for five more years. The bipartisan agreement, announced by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and ranking member Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) represents a strong commitment from the United States Senate to support key programs critical to nearly 2,000 counties nationwide.

The Rural Road Safety Network is a part of the NACo Rural Roads Safety project funded through FHWA/Office of Road Safety and conducted in partnership the National Association of County Engineers. The Rural Road Safety Network provides an opportunity for county staff and elected officials to share experiences with their peers related to increasing roadway safety, often through low-cost safety measures, and increasing public awareness of safety issues within the local community and political system.

Reports are sketchy, but it appears that the White House and Congressional leaders are weighing a number of options to wring “savings” from the Medicaid program. These include (1) phasing out the ability of states to tax health care providers to raise part of the non-federal share; (2) “rebasing” Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments; and (3) implementing a new “blended” federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP). From Politico: “Medicaid cuts could come from Democrats”.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on June 22, which found that since Congress took action in 2007 to end horse processing in the U.S., there has been a rise in equine neglect and abuse incidents.